Green Thumbs Up: Prepare tender plants for chilly days ahead

Saturday

Sep 27, 2008 at 12:01 AMSep 27, 2008 at 12:59 PM

As September draws to a close and the days grow shorter with the passing of the autumnal equinox, gardeners hasten to complete a wide range of gardening chores. Autumn is the season for planting, transplanting, and putting the gardens to bed.

Suzanne Mahler

As September draws to a close and the days grow shorter with the passing of the autumnal equinox, gardeners hasten to complete a wide range of gardening chores. Autumn is the season for planting, transplanting, and putting the gardens to bed.

Throughout the fall season, plants and animals gather and store food to sustain them during the winter months.

Chipmunks scurry about our landscapes, their cheek pouches filled with nuts and seeds or precious spring-flowering bulbs uprooted from our flowerbeds. Squirrels scamper among the branches overhead, performing dramatic acrobatics as they voraciously consume a profusion of shiny red fruits from my fruit-laden dogwoods. Nearly every day I chase these fluffy-tailed bandits from my deck, each carrying a cherry tomato in his mouth.

As I stroll through my garden on weed patrol, twittering goldfinches scatter, only to reappear moments later and resume plucking seeds from the heads of purple coneflowers, black-eyed Susans, cosmos, and allium.

Chickadees and tufted titmice join the finches, perching atop seed heads, which often bend over as they alight and spring back as the small birds move from stem to stem. Dozens of hoof prints, deeply embedded in the soft earth, and the tell-tale remainders of leafless stems indicate that deer have begun their fall foraging, which will surely escalate as the season progresses.

Butterflies drift through the landscape on warm, sunny days, sipping nectar as they float from flower to flower. Handsome black-and-orange Monarch butterflies tend to be particularly plentiful, especially in coastal areas, as eastern residents of this species prepare to make their miraculous journey to the mountains of Mexico. In gardens and meadows, dozens of these familiar butterflies may be seen among the lingering blossoms of sedums, asters and goldenrod.

Wise gardeners take their cues from nature. The frenzied activity of our wildlife visitors reinforces our sense of urgency to begin making preparations for the chilly days ahead. Although a killing frost is unlikely until mid-October, many tropical plants, annuals, and houseplants are sensitive to temperatures even in the 40s, necessitating quick action to protect or propagate these tender treasures.

Coleus and impatiens are particularly vulnerable to cool temperatures.

In the coming week, several small plants of unique cultivars will be lifted, transplanted into containers filled with potting soil and transferred to my three-season porch. Tip cuttings will be clipped from larger specimens, dipped in a rooting powder and inserted into pots of perlite or vermiculite.

In a few weeks, rooted cuttings will be transplanted into containers filled with potting medium and grown in a warm, bright location throughout the winter months. Cuttings can be trained to produce sensational topiaries or propagated to use as container or bedding plants for next season. Geraniums and begonias will flower all winter on a sunny windowsill, a welcome reminder of the season past and a new growing season to come.

The latter half of September is also the preferred time to begin gradually acclimating houseplants that enjoyed a summer vacation outdoors to the lower light conditions they will encounter in the home environment.

Even houseplants that spent the summer in the shade received much brighter light than they are likely to find indoors. If these plants can be moved into a brightly lit sunroom, garage or porch on chilly days and given a few hours outside when temperatures are mild, the gradual reduction in light will be less of a shock, although nearly all plants experience some leaf-drop or dieback as they adjust to lower light and humidity in our dry, heated indoor spaces.

Closely inspect cuttings, transplants and houseplants for pests – somehow insects seem to know which plants are destined for a warm, cozy winter indoors. Many often go unnoticed for weeks while sucking the vitality out of our plants and creating sticky honeydew that clings to underlying surfaces.

Although no insects may be readily observed, eggs are often laid on the foliage and hatch once the plants are brought into warmer environments. One or two applications of a light horticultural oil spray, Neem, insecticidal soap, or Bayer Rose and Flower spray will eliminate a large number of the typical intruders, including aphids, scale, mealy bugs, white flies, and spider mites.

Be sure to check the drainage holes of the containers for sow bugs, worms, and slugs or you may discover them crawling across the floors of your home.

With a chill in the air as dusk approached, I paused to admire several patches of colorful annuals that were particularly successful this season. While I enjoy experimenting with new combinations each season, I often duplicate those that seem especially appealing and have learned to take headcounts before frosty evenings arrive to avoid overbuying next year.

I carry several Ziploc bags around during my travels to collect seeds, especially those of annual poppies, cleome, cosmos, salvia, snapdragons and gloriosa daisies. Although many of these will self-sow, I prefer to scatter them in desired locations rather than depending on Mother Nature to choose. Many of these plants are hybrids and the seeds may vary from the original parents, but these random seedlings often produce delightful surprises.

It seems difficult to imagine that the end of the growing season will soon be upon us, but early preparations will enable dedicated gardeners to enjoy many of their colorful tender treasures during the winter months and for seasons to come.

Suzanne Mahler is an avid gardener, photographer and lecturer who has been developing the 1.5-acre property surrounding her home in Hanover, Mass., for more than 30 years. She is a member of two local garden clubs, past President of the New England Daylily Society, an overseer for the Massachusetts Horticultural Society and is employed at two garden centers.

Market Place

Original content available for non-commercial use under a Creative Commons license, except where noted.
MetroWest Daily News, Framingham, MA ~ 33 New York Ave., Framingham, MA 01701 ~ Privacy Policy ~ Terms Of Service